Russia Condemns Participation of Foreign Mercenaries in Ukrainian Conflict

© AP PhotoUkrainian government soldiers sit on top of their vehicle driving on a road stretching away from the town of Artemivsk, Ukraine
Ukrainian government soldiers sit on top of their vehicle driving on a road stretching away from the town of Artemivsk, Ukraine - Sputnik International
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Foreign mercenaries' "unacceptable" participation in the Ukrainian crisis only incites the bloodshed and aggravates the situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry states.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Participation of foreign mercenaries, including Croatian, in the Ukrainian conflict is unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website on Thursday.

“There is information that some Croatian citizens are a part of the odious Azov battalion, formed by far-right powers. The participation of foreign mercenaries, including Croatian, in the internal Ukrainian conflict is unacceptable and only incites it,” the statement reads.

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Earlier, various media reports published Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic's statement that Croatian nationals fight with Kiev forces against eastern Ukrainian militias.

“We call on Zagreb and heads of other states, whose citizens are enlisted by Ukrainian armed forces, to stop this vicious practice. This task is specifically relevant now, during the very important and difficult period of Minsk agreements implementation regarding normalization of situation in Ukraine’s southeast," the ministry continued.

Moscow expressed concern over the Pusic’s statements.

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Earlier this week, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said that the issue of sending EU troops to Ukraine was "not being discussed."

Ukrainian volunteer battalions, such as Donbas, Azov and Dnipro, were formed in April after Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine. In November, the volunteer divisions, far-right in their ideologies, were put under the command of the Ukrainian Army.

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